October 26, 2009
DC Council continues taxation without representation
Looks like the members of the D.C. Council want to be voted out in the next election:
A small but noisy group of protesters, many bused in from churches, rallied Sunday in downtown Washington to demand that the D.C. Council reject a measure that would allow same-sex marriages in the District.
“No one has the right to pass laws without checking with the taxpaying citizens of the District of Columbia,” said Howard Butler of Holy Temple Church of God in Southeast Washington. He was among about 150 opponents of same-sex marriage in Freedom Plaza, across from the John A. Wilson Building, which houses the mayor’s and council members’ offices.
After months of strategizing, the debate over whether the District should legalize same-sex marriage is entering its final stages as a council committee takes up the issue Monday. Hundreds have signed up to testify, setting the stage for one of the largest council hearings ever, officials said. Another hearing Monday is scheduled before the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics, which must decide whether to allow a ballot initiative on whether marriage in the District should be restricted to unions involving one man and one woman.
Sunday’s protesters chanted, “Let the people vote!” but many participants live in the Maryland and Virginia suburbs. “What happens in D.C. will ultimately affect the states around it,” said Dana Sanders, a Columbia resident.
To get an initiative on the ballot, its supporters must convince the elections board that their proposal would not discriminate against gay men and lesbians. Most legal observers expect the board will deny the request. This summer, the board rejected a referendum proposal to block the city from recognizing same-sex marriages performed in other states.
That quote about no one having the right to pass laws without checking with the taxpayers of DC is an obvious joke. We’re DC, you know, taxation without representation. It’s written on our license plates! Congress has the right to pass laws without checking with us, so why wouldn’t our own city council? It’s not like they’re going to get voted out for not putting this to a vote by the people, which is what they should do. And, why won’t they be voted out? Because they are Democrats and this city always sticks with those Dems.
DC may seem, to outsiders, a very liberal city. I mean, 93 percent of us voted for Obama (not me, of course, I voted for myself). But, those same folks who voted in Obama would vote against recognizing same-sex marriage in the District, so that is why the city council doesn’t want to put the vote to the people. Although they overwhelmingly support Democrats on most economic issues, their weekly church attendance has them voting against the same-sex marriage measure. This is why they will never get to vote on it.
I do think that this is a vote that should be put to the voters of DC, not decided by some council. If the citizens of this city would vote people out, maybe their elected representatives would be more responsive. They know their seats are safe, so they don’t care what their constituents think. They’re not going to get voted out for voting same-sex marriage in. Although I think this is an issue that should be decided by the people, there’s not much that can be done to stop this. Protesting outside the mayor’s office on a Sunday seems pretty unproductive. And, if I really don’t like it, I can always move.
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